Selective Thermal and Photocatalytic Decomposition of Aqueous Hydrazine to Produce H(2) over Ag-Modified TiO(2) Nanomaterial

An Ag-modified TiO(2) nanomaterial was prepared by a one-pot synthesis method using tetra butyl titanate, silver nitrate, and sodium hydroxide in water at 473 K for 3 h. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to determine the structure and morphology of the synthesized Ag-modified TiO(2) nanomaterial. The diffuse reflectance UV-visible and photoluminescence spectroscopy results revealed that metallic Ag nanoparticles decreased the optical band gap and photoluminescence intensity of the TiO(2). In addition, the Raman peak intensity and absorbance were increased after Ag modification onto TiO(2). The photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized samples was tested for decomposition of aqueous hydrazine solution under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic efficiency of Ag-modified TiO(2) nanomaterials was higher than that of bare TiO(2) and Ag metal NPs due to the synergistic effect between the Ag metal and TiO(2) structures. In addition, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) electron transfer from Ag metal particles to the conduction band of TiO(2) is responsible for superior activity of TiO(2)-Ag catalyst. The Ag-modified TiO(2) nanomaterials offered a 100% H(2) selectivity within 30 min of reaction time and an apparent rate constant of 0.018 min(−1) with an activation energy of 34.4 kJ/mol under visible light radiation.